1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for triggering at least one passenger protection means of a vehicle, to a corresponding device, and to a corresponding computer program product.
2. Description of the Related Art
In higher-quality vehicles, or markets with higher requirements for restraint systems (for example, USA), so-called upfront sensors (sensors which are attached to the vehicle front side) are installed. These are acceleration sensors sensing in the longitudinal (x) direction (i.e., along the vehicle's longitudinal axis) which are installed in the front end of the vehicle. It is common to install one or two upfront sensors, which, for example, is/are installed at the radiator cross member or at the headlight mountings. Since these sensors are situated in the crumple zone, they detect deformation resulting from a frontal crash very quickly and are thus very suitable for detecting frontal crashes. However, usually they are not used as the sole triggering instance, but influence a triggering algorithm acting on the central sensors of an airbag control device.
Published German patent application DE 10 2005 008 977 A1 describes a method for transmitting sensor data for reliable identification.